The city is on the north coast of the Southern Peninsula, on a small bay. It is among low mountains (Bordes, Rochasse and Caracol) and almost isolated from the rest of the country, about 280 km south of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. To the southeast of the city is the River Grande-Anse.

It is also the chief town of an arrondissement (a part of a department) with the same name. The arrondissement has five communes (a commune is like a municipality): Jérémie, Abricots, Bonbon, Chambellan and Moron.

There are several interesting places to visit and see in Jérémie and near the city. Some of them are:

Fort Télémaque or Fort Marfrac. It was built after the Haitian independence to defend the area.

Église Saint-Louis (Saint Louis Church), built during the 19th century.

The Anse-d'Azur' beach. There are other interesting beaches such as those of Gommier and Guinaudée.

L'Habitation Latibolière where the General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, father of the French writer Alexandre Dumas, was born. It was a farm where coffee was grown; its old name was Habitation Davy de La Pailleterie.